Alternative

The Comfort Of Recording At Home

by Sqwerv

Sqwerv - Hors D'oeuvres Part 1


We are Sqwerv, a Denver-based four-piece band that loves improvising and jamming. Our latest project is a departure from our previous works – the new EP “Hors D’oeuvres Part 1” is the first of a three-part project. For a while, we referred to it as the “psych album,” but we went with “Hors D’oeuvres” as it’s just a taste of what we have coming out this year.

We are very much committed to artistic exploration and boundary-pushing; our close friends who have heard snippets of the songs are surprised it’s the same band. We love that.

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Easy Listening for Difficult People

by Ancient Champion

Ancient Champion


It all began with a 30-year hiatus. In 1993, I was living in Los Angeles. My band had broken up, and I was an acclaimed songwriter. I was sharing a house with my regular studio engineer, a house protected by an adherence to some Wild West frontier law — a legal loophole, really, that kept us temporarily in bank-repossessed homes before the hammer fell, and we moved on to another bank-repossessed home in limbo.

Diametrically opposed to the musical situation we’d left, which was a type of pastiche Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – abrasive, dynamic, feedback and polyester-driven mayhem, we were recording and beginning to assemble what we considered could be the quietest band in the world. Maybe you recall this was right in the middle of the Seattle grunge era. Those were terrible times for music. We were in the opposition. You’d maybe hear what we were aiming for these days in the likes of Timbre Timbre, but back then, in that environment, it seemed dissolute and unwarranted. And most likely unwanted.

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Prairie Flowers

by Dante Reynolds a.k.a. MiG-29

MiG-29


MiG-29 is the dreamy, blood-covered, creative outlet of Prairie Flowers(Dante Reynolds). Born and raised in the San Jose Bay area in the late 90s, Flowers was blessed to be surrounded by some of the best rap music from the era. Pop-punk, hip-hop, and R&B are all styles that have made an impact on young flowers. At about 14, the flower was ready to blossom.

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One Year On – Enigmatic Journey Through Sonic Realms

by MAN1K

MAN1K


In the mystical depths of my sonic odyssey, amidst the swirling mists of creativity and experimentation, I, Yaroslav Boruk, known by the enigmatic aliases MAN1K and M∆N⸸K, emerged as a harbinger of ethereal soundscapes in the realms of Underground Witch-House and Darkwave. Born in the enigmatic city of Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, my journey through the winding corridors of music began with a profound sense of curiosity and a yearning to transcend the mundane confines of everyday existence.

From the earliest days of my consciousness, I found myself inexplicably drawn to the enigmatic allure of music, its haunting melodies and mysterious harmonies resonating deep within my soul. It was amidst the vibrant tapestry of Poland that I first encountered the tantalizing whispers of inspiration, the rhythmic pulse of the streets echoing in harmony with the beat of my heart. Amidst the lively energy of the city, I found solace in the evocative power of sound, laying the foundation for my future endeavors.

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Unused Songs And Their Potential To Make You Sick

by Loic J Tuckey

Loic J Tuckey


Whether you’re professional or amateur, tour-famous or bedroom-idle, every musician has them. They hover around like a foul scent and rear their ugly heads each time you’ve forgotten they exist. If you’re a music type, I’ve no doubt you’ve got a batch lying around, too.

I’m talking about unused songs and recordings you have no idea what to do with. A jam you tracked one night but never finished. A memory you should probably try to let go. Move on with your life, buddy!

Yet, now and then, you pull one out and give it a listen. Each time, the reek of unfulfilled potential makes you sick to your stomach. You like the tune enough to vouch for it, but know it’s never getting uploaded to Spotify. It’s regrettable because, given the right resources, you believe it had the potential to be an absolute belter.

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Walking Until I Lay

by Jonas Franck a.k.a. Corpse Feet

Jonas Franck aka Corpse Feet


Why call it Corpse Feet? No one, to my knowledge, can survive death, so I guess we’re all just corpse feet walking until we lay…

Here’s how it went.

It was in the late 70s, and I was just a few years old. I had seen a man with his guitar on our black and white TV, probably Elvis Jailhouse Rock, and immediately wanted to be that. So, I grabbed a tennis racket at a birthday party and got up on the table to do my first show.

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The Opposite Of Shapes

by Laura of Outer Shapes

Outher Shapes


“The Opposite Of Shapes” is a term I’ve coined for the sound I hear in my favorite songs – the one I strain my ears for, impossible to pick out of the mix, so loud and so subtle at the same time, until I just have to believe it’s the final instrument – the sound that bubbles in between all of the tracks, everything and nothing at the same time. The element that makes a song good or not, well mixed or not, a hit or a flop. Sometimes it’s a feeling, sometimes it’s an actual sound. When that final piece reveals itself in a song, I can float in it, become it, and insert myself into that mysterious and thrilling space. I feel like it’s been made just for me.

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Freedom of Expression

by Plastic Dents

Plastic Dents


Music is the closest thing to God for me, to spirituality. To freedom of expression and all things mysterious in the universe. It means more to me every day. I dabble in whatever sounds I like under a single name — Plastic Dents — doing my damndest to follow my muse and subvert audience expectations, as well as my own.

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A Bittersweet Experience

by Zachary Signals

Zachary Signals


When I released my first single, ‘Always Time’ as ZEETRICITY!, I found it incredibly moving how many people resonated with the subject matter; for such a personal song to have such an effect reminds me exactly why I began writing music in the first place.

I have always believed that music is the most powerful form of art because it is a constantly evolving medium that takes on various forms. However, its intention always remains the same: to resonate with the listener.

There is a special connection between the creator of the music and the one listening to it, creating a small window of insight into each other’s lives.

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30 Years’ Worth Of Music Making… And Beyond

by Jamie Hutchings

Jamie Hutchings
Photo by Jared Harrison


Hi, my name’s Jamie Hutchings; I’m a singer, songwriter, guitarist, percussionist, and sometime improviser and producer. I’m based in Sydney, Australia.

Music was a given in my family household as my dad was a woodwind session cat. He’s 83 now, but he still gigs here and there, but as kids, it was his bread and butter. So all of us inherited his musicality in some form, but still (particularly with my brother and I), we found ourselves gravitating more and more towards rawness and originality over professionalism and technique. I was looking through my mum and dad’s record collection the other night, and it’s almost exclusively Frank Sinatra records. Sinatra is amazing, but the overexposure to music in a show-biz format perhaps contributed to us going in a different direction!

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